[Management of colorectal liver metastases after induction treatment. The pathologist's role in 2011]. / Prise en charge des métastases hépatiques d'origine colorectale après traitement d'induction. Place du pathologiste en 2011.

The management of colorectal liver metastases has been improved these last years. The efficacy of chemotherapy regimens and targeted therapies has led to a better prognosis. It has also allowed the resection of metastases initially unresectable. In this setting, the pathologist plays a major role. He is involved in the gross examination, in order to perform an adequate sampling of the lesions. He is also involved at the morphological level, for the assessment of the pathological response, which is now recognized as a prognostic factor and a marker of sensitivity or resistance to a given treatment. Moreover, the determination of predictive markers of response or resistance to induction treatments will constitute a supplementary and major challenge for the pathologist.

[Locally advanced rectal cancer management: which role for the pathologist in 2011?]. / Prise en charge des cancers du rectum localement avancés : quel rôle pour le pathologiste en 2011 ?

Locally advanced rectal cancers mainly correspond to lieberkünhien adenocarcinomas and are defined by T3-T4 lesions with or without regional metastatic lymph nodes. Such tumors benefit from neoadjuvant treatment combining chemotherapy and radiotherapy, followed by surgery with total mesorectum excision. Such a strategy can decrease the rate of local relapse and lead to an easier complementary surgery. The pathologist plays an important role in the management of locally advanced rectal cancer. Indeed, he is involved in the gross examination of the mesorectum excision quality and in the exhaustive sampling of the most informative areas. He also has to perform a precise histopathological analysis, including the determination of the circumferential margin or clearance and the evaluation of tumor regression. All these parameters are major prognostic factors which have to be clearly included in the pathology report. Moreover, the next challenge for the pathologist will be to determine and validate new prognostic and predictive markers, notably by using pre-therapeutic biopsies. The goal of this mini-review is to emphasize the pathologist's role in the different steps of the management of locally advanced rectal cancers and to underline its implication in the determination of potential biomarkers of aggressiveness and response.

Mesenchymal stem cells inhibit the differentiation of dendritic cells through an interleukin-6-dependent mechanism.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are of particular interest for their potential clinical use in tissue engineering as well as for their capacity to reduce the incidence and severity of graft-versus-host disease in allogeneic transplantation. We have previously shown that MSC-mediated immune suppression acts via the secretion of soluble factor(s) induced upon stimulation. The aim of this study was to identify the molecule(s) involved and the underlying mechanism(s). We show that murine MSC secrete high levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and vascular endothelial growth factor, which are directly correlated to the inhibition of T-cell proliferation. The T-cell activation is partially restored upon addition of a neutralizing anti-IL-6 antibody or the prostaglandin E2 inhibitor indomethacin. Interestingly, no indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase activity was detected in our conditions. Instead, we show that MSC reduce the expression of major histocompatibility complex class II, CD40, and CD86 costimulatory molecules on mature dendritic cells (DC), which was responsible for a decrease in T-cell proliferation. Moreover, we show that the differentiation of bone marrow progenitors into DC cultured with conditioned supernatants from MSC was partly inhibited through the secretion of IL-6. Altogether, these data suggest that IL-6 is involved in the immunoregulatory mechanism mediated by MSC through a partial inhibition of DC differentiation but is probably not the main mechanism. Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.

Immature dendritic cells suppress collagen-induced arthritis by in vivo expansion of CD49b+ regulatory T cells.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized APCs with an important role in the initiation and regulation of immune responses. Immature DCs (iDCs) reportedly mediate tolerance in the absence of maturation/inflammatory stimuli, presumably by the induction of regulatory T cells. In this study, we show for the first time that repetitive iDC injections trigger the expansion of a novel regulatory population with high immunomodulatory properties, able to protect mice from collagen-induced arthritis. These regulatory T cells are characterized by the expression of the CD49b molecule and correspond to a CD4+ alpha-galactosylceramide/CD1d-nonrestricted T cell population producing IL-10. Adoptive transfer of < 10(5) TCRbeta+ CD49b+ cells isolated from the liver of iDCs-vaccinated mice, conferred a complete protection against arthritis. This protection was associated with an attenuation of the B and T cell response associated with a local secretion of IL-10. Thus, together these data demonstrate that iDCs can expand and activate a novel regulatory population of CD49b+ T cells, with high immunosuppressive potential able to mediate protection against a systemic autoimmune disease.

Efficient new cationic liposome formulation for systemic delivery of small interfering RNA silencing tumor necrosis factor alpha in experimental arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) is among the most prominent cytokines in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and is secreted mainly by macrophages. A direct method for restoring the immunologic balance in RA is use of small interfering RNA (siRNA) for silencing the TNFalpha transcript. The aim of this study was to determine the therapeutic effect of systemic administration of TNFalpha siRNA in an experimental model of RA, optimizing its delivery using new liposome formulations. METHODS: Murine macrophages were transfected with siRNA targeting TNFalpha, and expression was measured. The therapeutic effect in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) was assessed after intravenous delivery of TNFalpha siRNA. Delivery was optimized using a carrier DNA for complexation with the cationic liposome RPR209120/DOPE. Levels of TNFalpha and other cytokines were measured in sera and joint tissue-conditioned media. Biodistribution was determined using a fluorescent siRNA. RESULTS: In vitro, TNFalpha siRNA efficiently and specifically modulated the expression of TNFalpha at both the messenger RNA and protein levels. In vivo, complete cure of CIA was observed when TNFalpha siRNA was administered weekly, complexed with the liposome and combined with carrier DNA. Inhibition (50-70%) of articular and systemic TNFalpha secretion was detected in the siRNA-injected groups, which correlated with a decrease in the levels of interleukin-6 and monocyte chemotactic protein 1. The main organs targeted by siRNA were the liver and spleen; the addition of liposome RPR209120 and carrier DNA significantly increased organ uptake. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated the efficiency of systemic delivery of siRNA designed to silence TNFalpha in CIA, using a liposome carrier system as a way to address the methodologic limitations in vivo.